PINK FLOYD • « Pink Floyd », Door Magazine, 25 November 1971
Interviewer: « You have been working together for what, four years now? It seems as though a lot of other groups have problems with directions and such. Has it bothered you ? »
Nick Mason: « Directions are a problem and people are a problem ».
Roger Waters: « It’s a very limited medium and it’s unusual to find four people with the necessary personalities and problems or whatever it takes to get into rock and roll. We generally manage to agree on what we want to do »
Interviewer: « To a certain extent, radio helps to influence the American scene. Do you have any comments on the type and quality of air play that you are getting in the States ? »
Nick Mason: « It’s hard to judge, but any air play we get on FM is better than what we get in England »
Interviewer: « Your audience in England would be a concert audience then ? »
Roger Waters: « Concert and record buying, but just not radio ».
David Gilmour: « We get an hour a year on BBC. Usually on a Tuesday evening between 10 and 11 p.m ».
Interviewer: « Do you sit down and consciously aim yourselves at any particular segment of the audience or do you just do it for yourselves ? »
Roger Waters: « We don’t do it for ourselves only.
Nick Mason: « Well we do; we do it as good as we can get it for ourselves.
Interviewer:: « How long does it take you to sit down and think up some of the sounds that you use ? »
Roger Waters: « We very rarely consciously to do it. .. accidentally is more like it ».
Interviewer: « Do you practice together all the time ? »
Roger Waters: « We don’t rehearse that much any more ».
Nick Mason: « Either the stuff is done individually at home and expanded in the studio or it will come from an idea during a studio session. »
Interviewer: « I got to listen to your new record a couple of times last night. When you're doing something like “Echoes," was that a studio thing ? »
Nick Mason: « Echoes is a perfect example »
Roger Waters: « We basically got the form of the thing together in rehearsals but it’s a group thing »
Interviewer:: « And you sort of change it every time ».
Roger Waters: « The form is the same but it will vary a little »
Interviewer:: « When you're at home do you work on any kind of a regular schedule ? »
Rick Wright: « No we don’t ».
Interviewer: « So you have made it far enough along with records and such that you can do essentially what you want ? »
Roger Waters: « No, no. We just mean that we plod on ».
Nick Mason: « There are always schemes that might happen. At the moment there are three or four things we have planned, but some of the things are going to drop out. Some better things are going to come along. Some of the really good things aren’t going to happen ».
Interviewer: « You have control over your own production then ? »
Roger Waters: « In England, yes. EMI pays for as much studio time as we want ».
Interviewer:: « There was some talk at one time about you doing a ballet. Has any thing more been done on it ? »
Nick Mason: « It’s been very nourishing. We’ve had some very, very sauve luncheons but little more ».
Interviewer:: « Do you have any other ideas down for another album ? »
Roger Waters: « We’ve done work on some other things. Some that didn’t quite get finished for the last one. This album started in January and finished in September. We started out without anything at all »
Nick Mason: « We didn’t work continuously. We booked about 20 days in January, then went back in March, then back in May, then in July and August and finally September »
Interviewer:: « You get off relatively lighter than most of the other bands. Do you ever use any sidemen ? »
Rick Wright: « We haven’t since the choir and the horns on Atom Heart Mother ».
Roger Waters: « We tend not to ».
Interviewer: « With the studio time as expensive as it is, do they charge you for the set up time ? »
Nick Mason: « Sure ».
David Gilmour: « It depends. You can usually get in on the lunch hour to set up »
Roger Waters: « Our sessions normally are booked from 2 p.m. to midnight. We try to get blocks of time ».
Interviewer: « How many men do you normally use ? »
Roger Waters: « Usually one ».
Nick Mason: « One sound guy and a couple of helpers to carry things about ».
Interviewer: You don't have the same quantity of sound equipment that you had for that outdoor concert last fall, do you ? »
Roger Waters: « I don’t know for sure. I think there’s more there in weight and power too. There’s a bigger P.A. When we went to Japan we found out that our equipment weighs almost 6 tons ».
Nick Mason: « We’re not into a megadirth thing, sort of overwhelming everyone. All we want is a really efficient system ».
Rick Wright: « We’ve gone lighter but have picked up in the P.A. »
Interviewer:: « I was noticing your 360 degree switch. What does something like that cost ? »
Rick Wright: « That’s a one of a kind thing that was built for us. I don’t know how much that was but we have $40,000 or $50,000 tied up in the sound equipment ».
Interviewer: « Do you have much of the equipment created for you ? »
Rick Wright: « Only that. The mixer has 4 of those, only smaller ».
Interviewer: « When you start playing on the stage do you have any kind of a set period that you're going to play ? »
Roger Waters: « Yes, we know what we’re going to play when we go on, but the exact lengths may be a bit different ».
David Gilmour: « It varied last night quite a bit ».
Interviewer: « When you do a tour do you generally set it up only for the weekends or do they try and book you as solidly as possible ? »
Nick Mason: « Not so much they, no. We say we want to work every night we can in America ».
Interviewer: « What type of distance do you try to keep it to for travelling ? »
Roger Waters: « Something that we can possibly manage. A couple to three hundred miles. We can do 500 miles a day, but that’s hard on the roadies ».
Nick Mason: « It’s better to work as much as possible when you’re in strange cities all the time. Six weeks anywhere away from home is a long time ».
Interviewer: « Do you ever have any problems with promoters on your American tours ? »
Nick Mason: « The problems with promoters come with rank amateurs. You only deal with amateurs if you’re one yourself. We had some problems when we were less experienced, but not now ».
Interviewer: « Do you like to work with a second group ? »
Roger Waters: « We don’t mind except a lot of groups don’t like it that we won’t let them use the P.A. ».
Interviewer:: « I have one last question about Relics. Was that done as a contractual thing ? »
Nick Mason: « Yes and no. They were going to release an album of oldies whether or not we did anything about it. They gave us the option of choosing what was on the album ».
Roger Waters: « America is the only country in the world that put it out at the full price. In England it’s less than half price and with a nicer cover too ».
